It depends... How much talking minutes will you use? Will you call or travel outside of your home country, state, or calling area? Will you be sending text messages? Do you want a phone with features like a camera or will a basic phone suffice? Before you worry about what phone you want to buy, determine what phone companies and plan best fit your needs. The two most important questions probably are coverage in your area and price. I would suggest visiting a couple of cell phone stores with the intention NOT TO BUY, but to gather information. Take notes. I find it is best to go to stores that sell phones/plans for several carriers. [Look for these stores in your Yellow Pages; their ads will show the logos of more than one phone company. If you live in a smaller town, check the Yellow Pages for a nearby larger city. Find these Yellow Pages at your local library.] They tend to be able to help you with the most options without being pushed to a single company. They will also be able to show you more phones. Ask all of your friends and family about their phones and plans. Take notes to compare. People will tell you about bad service and poor quality phones. What phone is the best value is something only you can judge. There are websites like cnet.com where there are tools for selecting phones by desired features. These sites can also help you decide on a phone company. Now you can select your phone. Visit the selected phone company's website and/or corporate store to find out what phones are offered and if they have any specials (you’ll find the closest corporate store on their website.) You can frequently get additional discounts if you are polite throughout your call and if you ask if the salesperson can do any better for you. Most people don't ask and they get the published price/discount. Also, check other websites like amazon.com, etc. You may find some better deals for a phone when buying a new service plan! Be careful buying a phone on eBay. You can find great deals, but it is also a great place for people to dump lemon phones on unsuspecting buyers.

I like alltel, I joined them because of the MyCircle program.